Inconsistency in Government policy is beginning to catch-up with its purveyors as an estimated 2,000 youths in the Northwest and the Southwest Regions whose fate had been tied to commercial motorcycle riding that even the Head of state had glorified as immediate solution to unemployment now face the possibility of a rudderless fate, following administrative decision banning their circulation outright.
The vicinities affected include Batibo, Widikum and Balikumbat Sub-Divisions of the Northwest Region and Mundemba, Ekondo-Titi, Mbonge, Konye, Kumba II and III under the Southwest Region. The decisions were signed by the Governors of the respective Regions.
According to the indefinite order, the circulation of motor bikes is suspended and any violators shall be prosecuted according t the laws in force. The same order tasks the Senior Divisional Officers, SDOs, of the affected places as well as security operatives are charged with the implementation of the order.
The ban has raised eyebrows across Anglophone Cameroon as many fear it shall go a long way to radicalize the youths who have already been asked to stay home every 8pm and resume work only at 5am.
According to Stanley Timo, economics teacher in Bamenda, the Governors’ decisions need a rethink. “My exposure to the two Anglophone Regions shows that since the coming of the motor bikes, every Sub-Division has embraced it as a major means of transportation with over 150 youths in each Sub-Division indulging into the sector to make a living. If now the Governors sign orders banning such activity, which many now look up to as means of survival I think they are just out to inflict more misery and pain on the youths.
Philemon Tih, a councillor in Bamenda thinks that it is a blow to the politicians. “It is a major blow to the politicians. Many of them often use these bike riders in campaigns and noise making. Given that we are in an election year and the governor banning bikers in some of the Sub-Divisions is a well calculated move to completely radicalize these youths, trigger voters’ apathy and completely discourage them from voting in the upcoming elections.
Like, Philemon Tih, Susana Nimbu, resident of Travellers neighbourhood says such administrative decisions are unfriendly to women and to the households. “How can they come up with such a decision at this time? Bikes have been able to transport labouring women to the maternity at midnight. They transport foodstuff to the market, beating inaccessible roads to all corners. Parents have been able to send children to school, take care of their wives and pay school fees, thanks to the coming of the bike sector.
“When you now say, no bikes will the same Government do all these?,” she wandered.
In Ndian Division, the only means of reaching Toko Sub-Division from Mundemba is by commercial motorcycle. The same holds for the maritime areas as the roads have been impassable for normal vehicles in the past three years.
Some have been quick to aver that this is an indirect way to deprive opposition politicians from campaigning. But this might unfortunately have a boomerang effect during elections of sovereign import like presidential, municipal and parliamentary, when the now alienated youths will seek their pound of flesh.
By Jean Marie Ngong Song

Work has resumed at the Douala-based cement factory after a three-day strike action staged by drivers to denounce what they termed poor working conditions.
Work only resumed on March 8, after authorities at the factory convinced the workers a solution would be found to their problems in the next 10 days (beginning the 08 March).
The drivers had taken the company by storm on Monday, February 5, by grounding tools at their garage, located opposite the factory at the banks of the River Wouri in Douala. For three days, no truck left to distribute cement to the various distribution chains across the country. The drivers had filed their grievances to the Governor of the Littoral Region with a copy to the Labour Inspectorate.
“We are paid FCFA 138,000 a month and it is up to us to cover up several expenses. We have no advance salaries, no salary increase,” said Aliko Tanko, a spokesperson of the striking drivers.

“We supply Dangote cement to all 10 regions of the country. Each truck carries 640 bags, or 32 tons. If a driver returns with bags of damaged cement, he incurs the loss. But this cement will be crushed to be resold,” laments Hervé M., one of the disgruntled drivers.
He proceeded by saying they are threatened by hierarchy with potential sacking whenever they complain.
“In addition, we pay the “motor-boy”, we wash their trucks with money from our pockets, and we are also responsible for carrying out repairs on them. We have written several petitions to hierarchy without any favourable response,” he said.
Other workers complain of working round the clock and extra hours for little or no bonuses while others say they suffer from respiratory problems because of the toxic powders absorbed due to the lack of safety equipment. But the most pills to swallow, was the company’s decision to deduct weighing fees from the drivers’ salary.
The logistics director of Dangote Cement Cameroon met the striking workers on Tuesday, March 6, at the protest site where he assured them that all their grievances will be looked into. He also asked them to set up a six-man delegation for proper dialogue and negotiations to take place.
The group, however, granted a deadline to the company to provide an answer to their various grievances.
Later on Wednesday, March 7, a meeting between the representatives of the group of drivers of Dangote Cement Douala Cameroon and the managers of the cement plant dragged into the late hours of the night and resulted in a temporary suspension of the strike action. This was only possible after the company requested and obtained a 10-day moratorium to find solutions to the problems posed by the 203 drivers who had grounded tools.
“We have reached an agreement (to return to work). But if the deadline passes for our conditions to be met, we will resume the normal strike action,” said Aliko Tanko, the staff representative, who reluctantly called on his colleagues to resume work that fateful Thursday morning.
While waiting to see the outcome of the moratorium, the drivers of this cement factory, owned by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, were able to arrive at certain compromises with the administration. The costs of the weighbridge and the damaged cement (hard cement) which were slashed on their salaries were suspended till further notice. A memorandum of understanding was also signed between the two parties. However, the drivers will be more focused on the outcome of the negotiations in 10 days.
In about 27 months of proper activities in Cameroon, this is the first real strike action staged at the Dangote Cement factory owned by the Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote.
By Francis Ajumane

Inhabitants of the Northwest Region are adjusting to a recent gubernatorial order, whose substance is the immediate cessation of sales and purchase of firearms throughout the Region for the next six months renewable, in addition to requesting that all owners of hunting guns surrender them to the police.

According to the order, the sale or purchase of ammunitions is with effect from the date of signature for six months renewable, banned. Contraveners are warned that they shall be liable to sanctions as law enforcement officers shall be carrying out regular controls. Another release signed by the Secretary General at the Governor’s Office, Lanyuy Harry on behalf of the Governor also, called on the population to hand over hunting guns to the police.

“Following the recent socio-political crisis and the prevailing insecurity situation coupled with the numerous attacks and threats…the sale and purchase of ammunitions is suspended for a period of six months renewable throughout the Northwest Region. All persons keeping hunting guns are requested to hand them over to the nearest administrative authority who will acknowledge receipt.”

Immediately the order was read on state radio in Bamenda many people began welcoming it with divided minds. According to Peter Tanwie, resident of Nkwen, the Governor simply wants to victimize his people and the tradition of Nkwen. “How can the Governor ask us to go and submit our guns? We use guns at funerals. We fire these guns to awaken the ancestors to welcome one of us each time he or she is journeying to the world beyond. I am not comfortable with this idea at all. We keep guns here as men as a show of manhood. What will the Governor expect us to do when somebody dies now?” Peter retorted.

To Mary Tebi, the Governor should have started by shutting down the gun shop at City Chemist Round About. “The gun shop Belibi is still open now as we speak. Does it mean that assailants can’t buy the guns or only private guns are dangerous? We should lead with examples,” she said.

Joshua Kum, another Bamenda city dweller said the ban on guns is Government’s mapped out strategy to deprive many a hunter from his source of livelihood. “The hunting gun remains the basic tool of a hunter. I think the Governor should have used a better way to control the guns than to completely ban their usage. I see a situation where the Governor and his administration indirectly want to legalize the brutal soldiers breaking into homes in the name of search for guns,” Joshua said.

Meanwhile the greater population of the Northwest Region is still hoping that the Governor would do something about the communiqué.

There seem to be no letting up in the merry-go-round of gun fire exchanges and subsequent killings, burnings and looting propagated by resolute separatist militants and regular soldiers who have turned callousness into a favourite pastime on the Kumba/Mbonge road, with the latest episode being the exodus of thousands of inhabitants of Bole Bakundu on Friday, January 2, to nearby villages, bushes and even to Kumba for those who could easily escape for safety. This latest stampede is said to have been caused by regular soldiers in pursuit of alleged Ambazonian separatists.

Friday’s raid was a spillover effect of Thursday, February 1 clash between Government soldiers and separatist fighters. According to eye witness accounts to The Rambler, at about 4pm, roads along Kumba-Mbonge and Kumba-Kotto were reportedly blocked by “Ambazonian Tigers” thereby halting circulation, which prompted military intervention.

The narrative continued that on the night of Thursday, February 1, indiscriminate shooting from gunfire exchanges by both parties left many dead and some wounded on both sides. These actions had already induced panic in the populations of Bole and Nake, thereby causing many to flee that same night for fear of the unknown, with hindsight from memories of Kwakwa on their minds.

More than 20 houses have reportedly been reduced to ground level and at least three persons dead in Bole alone. Motor bikes that were apprehended are said to have been set ablaze. Gunshots were reported in other villages like Ekombe on Thursday night. Generally, farmlands, businesses and other valuables have been abandoned.

When The Rambler talked to a lady who had fled from Bole but elected anonymity for security reasons on what transpired in her village and how she survived, she said “on Friday morning I went to buy fish in to prepare food. On my way back, I just saw people from my quarter running so I too joined them and ran back to the bush. When we arrived at a quiet place I asked them why they were running and they told me that the soldiers had come to our quarter searching homes for only what they alone know. Thank God I always walked with identity card even when am going to the farm because I know times are bad now and one can be embarrassed anywhere. That was how I followed my neighbours and landed in Kumba. Here in Kumba I only received calls from the village of persons whom I know whose houses have been destroyed and even some who have been caught by stray bullets,” she recounted.

Some other two corpses of civilians were discovered around the Kake Bridge still on Thursday night. The corpses were later taken for burial by workers of the Kumba City Council.

Incineration has become a regular trademark in villages where assailants have stalked and killed soldiers in the Northwest and Southwest Regions, causing many to begin wondering if such acts of vandalism expected from unknown assailants ought to be associated with regular soldiers as it currently obtains. Moreover, this firebombing feature that used to be connected with public and private edifices has now been extended to whole villages, inflicting pains in their wake on innocent citizens.

In the event, while gunshots rent the air as separatists and the military engage in combat, air pollution has, also, become a tenant as the homes of most citizens are razed by the military in retaliation against perceived injury and/or deaths inflicted on fellow men of arms.

Whether as a strategy by the Government to render denizens of the Southwest Region especially in Kumba and Mamfe homeless or not is still a moot point in discussions. However, it has been noted that in every area where there is combat between separatists and the military, houses around such areas would be set ablaze mindless of the fact that there may be people in such homes.

A recent scene of such barbaric act by military goons is that of the innocent 96 year old woman who died in one of the buildings said to have been set on fire by the military. While strong and agile youths for the fear of the unknown scampered for safety in the bushes, the late old woman couldn’t and was consequently roasted like chicken by same people who are under normal circumstances supposed to protect her.

Natives of victimized villages have cried foul as their properties have been shattered and their lives in danger. They have bitterly complained of an unprecedented crackdown by the military, which also used helicopters to fire on civilians. Even though Cardinal Tumi, Archbishop Emeritus of Douala has spoken out against the recent use of military violence and for the respect of human life, this has fallen on deaf ears as the burning persists and is instead progressing to other villages as was recently the case of Tado in Bui Division of the Northwest Region.

Many have pondered on the motive behind what they term wickedness by the military. According to natives, it is innocent people who are suffering because those the military are combating are not from of the villages which have been razed.

Though the Government is talking of dialogue but not initiating one, many have ascertained that the rampant arson on homes would eventually harden the hearts of denizens and make things worse. They have bitterly complained that the Government is doing nothing to ensure that the problem is solved and precious Cameroonian lives are going by the day.

Violence, many have said, cannot be solved by violence, but that seems to be the case now. Fear has engulfed the hearts of Cameroonians, especially, those in the two English speaking Regions as to what the future holds.

Motivated by the need to assign greater visibility to its corporate image through involvement in palpable features of social corporate responsibility, Célestin Tawamba of Cameroonian Business Group (Gicam) and Pierre Gattaz of the French Business Movement (Medef) have signed a memorandum of understanding to revive cooperation between the two structures.

It is the outcome of a working visit paid by a team of experts from the Cameroon Business Cartel, GICAM, led by its President Celestin Tawamba in France since last week Wednesday, January 31, 2018.

This memorandum has as major objectives to “reinforce the cooperation between the two parties and strengthen their collaboration through sharing of experiences as well as development of partnerships and concrete actions on the ground in the economic, commercial and environmental sectors,” a spokesman for the business cartel said.

Concretely, GICAM says it is committed to “facilitate the development of exchanges between the companies and firms that make up both organizations in the face of an integrated but increasingly competitive global economy.” Medef, for its part, will cooperate with GICAM “in the sector of vocational training, which is a driving force and an essential factor to encourage and promote investments and business development, mainly on a mid-term basis”.

GICAM expects this cooperation to be centered around activities in five major and strategic areas namely: entrepreneurship and SMEs, youth employment, the digital economy, education and vocational training and finally, the agreement business, investment and corporate social responsibility. The first evaluation meeting will take place at the end of this year 2018.Gicam’s French tour is part of the policy to open up to the international market, as a means to celebrate its 60th anniversary. The body intends to position itself as the main gateway for foreign investors and the diaspora and the essential interlocutor in consultations for the development of economic policies and programs for Cameroon and ECCAS. After the French employers, the president of Gicam accompanied by the chairman of the commission “International Affairs and Relations with the Diaspora”, Pierre Kam, and Cameroon’s ambassador to France, Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, met with Cameroon businessmen in the diaspora. With these, GICAM sold a bright image of Cameroon with vast opportunities to these compatriots abroad to come back home and invest. The body also looked at ways of creating a branch in France to coordinate the body’s activities and bring together Cameroonian investors and business men in the diaspora.

Visibly impressed by the product of a pioneering journalism effort that combines topicality and respect for ethical reporting incarnated by the The Rambler newspaper, Fako Divisional Delegate of Communication, Olive Ejang Tebug epse Ndumea has advised the crew of reporters behind the success story to remain principled in their practice despite obvious challenges.

She was speaking Friday, February 2, during her maiden visit to The Rambler Head Office in Buea.

Charlie Ndi Chia, Olive Ejang Tebug

She said as newspaper reporters,they should always ensure that they publish the news in accordance with the five core principles of journalism viz; truth and accuracy, independence, fairness and impartiality, humanity and accountability.To her, as fundamental public opinion leaders, when journalists respect ethics, they are contributing to nation building, maintenance of peace and stability. “Journalists should uphold their call to responsibility as a repetition of blunders results to the loss of public credibility,”she said.

In this regard, Ejang said she could not over emphasize the relationship between newspaper institutions and the political world. To her, many newspapers are the mouthpiece of certain ideologies, openly supporting political models which in some cases as she put it, may lead to manipulation by politicians.

Given that 2018 is an election year in Cameroon, hence, a call to increased responsibility from the press, she said the Fako Divisional Delegation of Communication would endeavour to equip journalists with skills on ‘Crisis Reporting and Peace Building,’ ‘The Media and Elections Reporting.’

Taking the cue, the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of The Rambler, Charlie Ndi Chia said he was extremely happy to suddenly find Ejang heading such a challenging office, especially as she was once his employee.

About the institution, he said The Rambler started in April 2016, and has predominantly female staff strength of about 80 percent and all of them are well trained. He continued that the institution has a mantra which is often on the back page of the newspaper. The Publisher stated unequivocally that, despite the difficulties involved, The Rambler tries to be as balanced as possible even though, every now and again, someone inadvertently runs riot and over steps their bounds. But he said in such cases, the attention of the individual is called to the fact that we owe a duty to ourselves as Cameroonians and to our society to stick as closely as possible to what the institution’s mission prescribes.

“We are very open to every opinion, very analytical and brave; we tell the story as we see it. We do mostly analytical journalism since we are weekly so that, when you read us, you read with a lot of pleasure and interest,” Ndi Chia said.

The Editor-in-Chief also revealed that his workers are all duly registered with the National Social Insurance Fund, but for those that are a bit lazy and are taking so much time to submit their documents. “As the publisher, I insist every worker must have a contract even if it has to be based on collective bargaining. Unlike most newspapers, we do not owe even month’s salary; we pay the little that we are supposed to pay no matter the odds,” he stated.

Ndi Chia made it clear that, even though as a newspaper they propagate certain issues and stand by them, his media house has taken a standpoint of a Cameroon where the equitable distribution of the commonwealth is the norm. Accordingly, he said, The Rambler is to all intents and purposes out to provide its own version of building blocks for the construction of an egalitarian Cameroonian nation.

This letter is addressed to you because it is rightly assumed that you are the product of refinement through training and continuous mentoring. Unlike the ragtag terrorist agitators you are fighting, order is supposed to be ingrained in your personae. However, your recent presence in Manyu and Meme Divisions tend to invoke a rather sombre picture of your clairvoyance capacity, or its complete absence. Whatever the circumstance, tread softly, my compatriot.

Furthermore, judging from the way you prosecute assignments, certainly, on the instructions of your superior officers, there is the definite impression that you mistake all Anglophones for terrorists. More so, your indiscriminate shooting and killing of unarmed, hapless civilians, especially, on the occasion of the death of your colleague(s) allegedly killed by some faceless individuals who call themselves ‘Ambazonia Forces,’ is not a solution to the present face-off between Government and Anglophones.

The guerilla warfare launched against you by the “terrorists” has no doubt been slaying many of your peers. It is understandable that such situations might be difficult for you to accept because it presents a kind of defeat picture, but it is not true.

You might be the terrorists’ target but Ah! Mr. Soldier, mind you, hapless civilians are no substitute for the faceless individuals attacking you. You have the duty to locate, defeat and conquer them. Even if you kill all Anglophones civilians, you are not declared victorious or should I say, you are not safe yet-you will have no peace because your enemy still lives and intimidates.

Please Mr. Soldier; in the event where you are attacked in a particular locality by faceless individuals, do not in anger or in the spirit of revenge react by shooting indiscriminately at every living being on sight; razing down homes and rendering hundreds of fellow Cameroonians refugees in their own homeland.

You did this in Manyu and then in Meme. Have the “terrorists” stopped their activities? Of course not, so logical reasoning should tell you that, the guys perpetrating these inhumane acts on you are probably not from those localities and, so, would have little or nothing to regret after you raid in revenge. Mr. Soldier, by doing what you are doing to the local population, you only give them ideas that negatively change their impression of you.

By burning down entire villages, you immediately turn those people into your enemies because you treated them as such and that scare will take generations to heal. The point is, by doing what you do, you become as inhumane as the extremists. Remember, it is not in your place to inflict greater pain, loses and burden on your camp; when the people are shot, killed, maimed, rendered homeless, it is not the inhuman radical who will come to their rescue afterwards, but the Government.

In a sense, it is Cameroon that loses its human resources and not the terrorists, and this has tremendous impact on the country’s development. Analytically, if we continue on this lane, Mr. Soldier, “Vision 2035” would be a farce because the resources supposed to be put together for national development is being irrationally wasted.

If one puts together houses and properties torched in Manyu and now Meme, as well as the number of people rendered homeless, one can only begin to imagine the difficulties these people will go through in managing to pick up the broken pieces of their lives.

Please Mr. Soldier, you are out to protect civilians as opposed to killing and exposing them to danger. Remember that all lives matter and we are all Cameroonians before being civilian, military, Anglophone or Francophone. Please, shoot no more, and kill not innocent civilians in Anglophone localities.

The inability of the Special Criminal Court to live up to its brief of adjudicating on and eventually recovering embezzled and/or misappropriated funds and other forms of corrupt practices perpetrated against the state, has led many concerned Cameroonians to begin worrying whether it has equally been cloaked in corruption, the cankerworms it had set out to thrust aside. Their inquisitiveness trails what has passed off for the court’s balance sheet, which revealed it has restituted just a “miserable sum,”that also, raises the spectre of snail-pace crawling.“Such sluggishness would mean better days for criminals,” they have further contended.

President Special Criminal Court, Justice Emmanuel Ndjere

The locale for this revelation was the installation ceremony of the new President of the SCC, Justice Emmanuel Ndjere. The “Procureur” General’s address at the installation bore that they have managed to restitute FCFA 4.5 billion in the last 5 years and have heard 130 cases.

Taking a shot to flush out insinuations that the SCC exudes symptoms of corruption infection and that it is a toy crafted by President Paul Biya, to eternally contain individuals who threaten his position, he assured that,“the Special Criminal Court is a nonpolitical jurisdiction.It is not an automatic distribution of life sentences,” he concluded.

The freshly installed President of the SCC has sworn to bring all embezzlers of public funds to book and restitute pilfered state chattels. His response to the installation prescriptions, hammered on the urgency to build a corruption free nation. He stated that “it is our assignment to pass on a heritage worthy of the Republic to our children by protecting the good of the community.”

Presiding at the installation ritual at the Yaounde Special Criminal Court, Friday, February 2, 2018, the Minister of State, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, Laurent Esso, charged the legal encyclopedia to uphold honesty and impartiality if he nurses hopes of rescuing the nation’s property from thieving Government officials. Minister Laurent Esso,equally, cautioned Justice Ndjere to leave no stones unturned in his assignment to serve justice to the people of Cameroon against embezzlers.

Justice Ndjere, erstwhile Secretary General at the Ministry of Communication was named to the headship of the SCC by President Biya, in June 2017. He succeeds Justice Yap Abdou, who is presently Advocate General at the Supreme Court and is expected to prosecute alleged corrupt Government officials and other bigwigs who have purportedly thieved chunks of dough from the Government treasury, the minimum being FCFA 50,000,000.

The 57 year old ex-student of the National School of Administration and Magistracy, ENAM, has since 1990 tutored student magistrates of the establishment. He is author of close to a dozen books with the most recent being, “The Other Face of the Special Criminal Court or The Humanitarian Dimension of the President of the Republic His Excellency Paul Biya, launched same day he was initiated to take over office of President at the SCC.

It is worthy to note that the Special Criminal Court is set by law N° 2011/028 of 14 December, 2011 and modified by law N° 2012/011 of July 16, 2012. “The Court shall be competent to hear and determine matters, where the loss amounts to at least FCFA 50,000,000 relating to misappropriation of public funds and other related offences provided for in the Penal Code and International Conventions ratified by Cameroon.”

Business mogul and philanthropist Dr. Charles Namme Menyoli, who has in the last 60 years been a household name in Buea in particular and, Cameroon in in General, owner of FAKOSHIPand other buoyant enterprises was yesterday Monday, January 22 recognized and crowned ‘Patriarch of the Nation’ by Prince Nasako Daniel Molondo, Meme Deputy Secretary General of Southwest Elites Association, SWELAfor his great and tireless humanitarian works in the community.

According to Meme SWELA assistant SG, the gesture is of utmost importance becauseit serves as motivation to people who are doing great jobs in the region. To him, the Government cannot develop the nation alone and so needs the support of individuals like Dr. Menyoli, who take initiatives to develop communities within the region. He stated that it is a very good gesturereason why SWELA thought it shouldnot hesitate to appreciate such endeavours so that he can continue to do more for the community.

Going by the SG Nasako, it was on December 2, 2016, after his election as the SG that he came up with the initiative and created two committees whereby messages were circulated nationally and in the Diasporarequestingfor suggestions. As he put it, many proposed Pa Menyoli and insisted that he shouldn’t be left out. He said they then set out toassess what FAKOSHIP has been doing in the community and discovered that the humanitarian work was so great.

Going by the Managing Director II of FAKOSHIP and son of Pa Menyoli, Thomas Malelu Menyoli, the initiative and gesture is to be applauded. He said that it is indeed a way of motivating persons so recognized to work harder. “I encourage those out there to create impact in the lives of many because what you do for yourself dies easily, but what you do for otherslasts,” Malelu advised.

Though with the discomforts that old age brings, Dr. Charles Namme Menyoli, was present and in his vote of thanks, appreciated the gesture but said it was unfortunate that SWELA met him at a time when his health is not at best. Confirming that it is an important and fortunate thing for him to be awarded, he promised that FAKOSHIP would continue with the great works but that those who would take after him should be blamed, if they don’t run it well. He asserted that as at now, FAKOSHIP has stood the test of time.